Southampton completed one of the boldest signings of the entire transfer
window on Friday night by obliterating their transfer record to secure the
£12 million arrival of Gaston Ramirez.

The Uruguay international shone during the Olympics and was also the subject of summer interest from both Liverpool and Tottenham. Ramirez, though, was persuaded by the opprtunity to be the main playmaker in Southampton’s team as well as the longer-term plans of manager Nigel Adkins and chairman Nicola Cortese.

Southampton entertain Manchester United at St Mary’s on Sunday when Emmanuel Mayuka and Maya Yoshida, two players who were also signed for a combined £6 million in the past week, will be available to make their debuts.

Ramirez did not complete his move from Bologna in time for Sunday’s match but, with the club’s previous transfer record standing at £6 million for Jay Rodriguez earlier this summer, his signing is a huge statement of intent.

“We are delighted – it’s a massive transfer,” said Adkins. “He is a talented football player. He’s young and hungry. He creates goals, he scores goals. He’s at a good age and he’ll bring some dynamism to our football team.”

The spending this summer is unprecedented in Southampton’s history but, according to Adkins, sustainable for the club.

Significantly, the Liebherr estate, who are the ultimate owners of Southampton, converted £33 million of loans into equity earlier this year to ensure that the club is now effectively debt free.

“Credit to the chairman [Cortese] – he has put the money on the table,” said Adkins. “He is very ambitious here. We were in administration a few years ago and we’ve come a hell of a long way in a very short space of time. The club is run very well, very prudently.

“A lot of people have worked very hard behind the scenes, gone to see a lot of players, spoken to a lot of players.

“That is what we have got to do because it is the biggest league in the world, the most competitive one. It is challenging on the pitch but also challenging off the pitch to get the better quality players in.”